7 of the Biggest Celebrity Fails on Social Media

Social media fails happen all the time, but when you’re a celebrity it can cause quite the stir. Big brands turn to social media marketing as a means of connecting with customers, so investing in celebrity endorsements to promote a product globally is not uncommon. But when a mistake is made, it becomes viewable to millions of people, which can come at a big expense to brands and marketeers. Let’s take a look back at some of the most cringe-worthy celebrity mistakes on social media:

1. SCOTT DISICK

The celebrity accidentally posted, or you can say copy-pasted detailed instructions into the caption for a Bootea Instagram post in May 2016. None the less, he later fixed his caption – a little too late. Even a second of going live will already reach a mass audience.

He fell victim to copy and pasting this: Here you go, at 4pm est, write the below: Caption: Keeping up with the summer workout routine with my morning @booteauk protein shake!

2. RITA ORA

The singer announced on Twitter in October 2014 that she would release her new song on Monday if her tweet received 100,000 retweets.

It received 2,000 only. No revelations here, just a simple promotional fail online.

3. KIM KARDASHIAN

How about the time when the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star misspelled Giorgio Armani’s first name on twitter in June 2015? The beauty mogul tweeted, “Why did Georgio Armani discontinue my favorite foundation??? I’m on my last bottle & everyone I know uses this!!! Please make it again!”

In which she then received a swift notification from Armani’s team: “@KimKardashian Dear Kim – let us know which one you need and we’ll send it to you. And Mr. Armani’s first name is Giorgio.” Kardashian had a reason, she blamed her spelling error on being “sleep deprived.”

4. CHARLIE SHEEN

The Two And A Half Men star revealed his number to the world in December 2011. In reality, he only wanted one person to call him. Sheen accidentally tweeted his phone number which was meant as a direct message to Justin Bieber.

“310-954-7277 Call me bro. C,” to over 5 million followers which he later deleted. This is not to say, he did not receive thousands of phone calls and text messages from fans.

5. NAOMI CAMPELL

The super model accidentally copy and pasted a caption for an Adidas shoes ad – including a personal message of what to say.

“Naomi, So nice to see you in good spirits!!! Could you put something like: Thanks to my friend @gary.aspden and all at adidas – loving these adidas 350 SPZL from the adidas Spezial range. @adidasoriginals.”

6. MANNY PACQUAIO

The boxer, supposedly a Samsung spokesperson, thanked his fans for their support on Twitter – using Twitter for iPhone.

Pacquaio posted directly from the rival – clearly a loyal fan to Apple.

7. BOW WOW

Back in May 2017, BOW WOW announced on Instagram he was going on a luxurious private jet to New York City – until people found out he was on a commercial flight after being photographed by a passenger!

The image was a stock photo.

The internet has seen it all. Like everyone, social media allows celebrities the freedom to post whatever they would like online – directly to their millions of fans around the world. This freedom combined with a massive reach – can spark different reactions. Sometimes entertaining, and other times controversy if social media fails happen. There are still and will continue to be numerous social media faux pas, and amongst them will be your favorite celebrities.

Should brands be fearful when partnering with celebs?

Celebrity endorsements can generate big rewards for brands; however, brands need to consider the behavioural trends of their consumers and the level of risk involved with celebrity collaborations. Brands who have previously invested millions into celebrity profiles on the basis of big numbers and names are starting look beyond this in favour of micro-influencers to minimise risk and reach more relevant audiences.

Investing in celebrities means that brands are at a bigger risk of causing themselves a PR scandal if something goes wrong; it also means that brands are paying a hefty price tag for an audience who is not necessarily relevant. Alternatively, investing in a pool of many micro-influencers with a smaller social media following is more effective to trigger a better return on investment, reach a more relevant audience and for a significantly lower cost than one celeb. Micro-influencers are seen as ‘everyday people,’ and their content is more relatable to their audience, thus more persuasive to their audience.

Brand Ripplris a platform that provides clients with access to over 3,500 influencers – so that they can tap into the right profiles, amplify their brands across social media and reach relevant audiences.